Magical Mangawhai

Magical Mangawhai
While we were sad to bid farewell to our home in Hahei, we were impressed by our new location in Mangawhai Heads , a beach and cliffside community just 80k north of Auckland. It is a sleepy little community with humble bachs and huge holiday homes. Our first morning we went for scenic cliffttop walk ,with breathtaking views ( and a long climb to get them) over the sea. After a cooling swim in the estuary, far from the pounding surf, I treated Griz to his favorite meal "salt and pepper squid" at a local cafe. Our bach is a charming old home, with a wraparound porch and a fabulous view of the estuary. On our second day we went snorkelling at Goat Island Marine Reserve, an area that had been a marine park since the early 70's. Griz was concerned about getting cold in the ocean water,so he rented an awesome thermal, bouyant wetsuit. He was so attractive, the fish and the other tourists were all over him. Isn't he cute? The countryside around Mangawhai is bucolic: long winding roads, farms with cows and sheep and the most bizarre road signs we have ever seen. The roads are particularly windy and steep here, and, as tourists we drive extremely slowly, much to the chagrin of the locals, anxious to get to their bachs, their beer, or whatever. We couldn't help but laugh at one bizarre road sign, indicating the speed limit was 100k ( something we have not yet reached out here) just before a 180 degree hairpin turn. Go figure!

Hahei Heaven

Square kauri

Shakespeare's beach ?

Lovely Hahei beach

Griz doing his Tarzan routine

Hahei Heaven
Our decision to spend a week at Hahei Beach in the Coramandel penninsula was a good one. As soon as we turned off the main road to the winding country road, through farms, rolling hills and rugged scenery, we knew we were in for a treat. The beach is spectacular: pink sand, cliffs , offshore islands and rolling surf (which proved to be a bit of a challenge for swimming- I got a taste of somersaulting under water more than once.) We have enjoyed morning walks on the cliffs surrounding the village, views of the countryside, and the spectacular beach. It is popular but not extremely crowded,even on their anniversay day weekend ( like our Labour day weekend at home- the end of summer fling.)
We took several day trips. One was to see the kauri forests and the famous square kauri- a 1200 year old massive tree that was spared the loggers' saw because of its unusual shape. We visited neighboring beaches, one called Shakespeare's cliff because of the unusual rock formation that looks like a profile of the bard (see if you can see the resemblance). We have been quite happy in our little bach: Grizzlo preparing the coffee with care, dining alfresco or just chilling out. Tomorrow we plan to visit Coramandel town- another adventure.

Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach (Bust?)

Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach (Bust?)
It was wonderful to wake up in our own home (for the next week), have coffee on the porch, listening to the bellbirds and watching the view of the pa (Maori fort site). Our first walk was a coastline trail to the magnificent Cathedral Cove. We had great coastline views, saw huge tree ferns and pockets of pastureland, complete with grazing cows. Cathedral Cove has huge limestone archways and rock formations. The swimming was a bit exciting with waves that could give us a great ride or turn us upside down in a face plant if we weren't careful.
The brief drive to Hot Water Beach was extremely scenic, a combination of rustic pastures and spectacular ocean views. Grizzlo was so excited to go to the hot water pools. There are volcanic springs under the sand and at low tide you can dig a hole and have your own jacuzzi.
Unfortunately , half the tourists to New Zealand had the same idea, so it was impossible to find an unoccupied spot. Crowd jacuzzis are not our thing. The surf there was spectacular, so we settled for watching the fearless surfers do their thing. The surf was much too dangerous for the average swimmer. So, view 10, jacuzzi 0.

Katikati cont'd